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Wednesday, 13 June 2012

Same-sex parents

Two new studies of children reared within gay and lesbian relationships contradict earlier findings which claimed to find no significant disadvantages for a same-sex parental upbringing as compared to children brought up within heterosexual relationships.

The first study by Dr Loren Marks casts doubt on previous methodology.

The review by Dr. Loren Marks from Louisiana State University finds that much of the science that forms the basis for the highly regarded 2005 official brief on same-sex parenting by the American Psychological Association (APA) does not stand up to scrutiny.

Of the 59 studies referenced in the APA brief, more than three-quarters were based on small, non-representative, non-random samples.

The second study by Professor Mark Regnerus found significant disadvantages for children reared within lesbian relationships

In his study, Professor Mark Regnerus used data from the New Family Structures Study (NFSS) , a large nationally representative sample of just under 3,000 young Americans aged 18 to 39, to compare how children raised in eight different family structures fared on 40 social, emotional, and relationship outcomes.

According to his findings, children of mothers who have had same-sex relationships were significantly different as young adults on 25 of the 40 (63%) outcome measures, compared with those who spent their entire childhood with both their married, biological parents. For example, they reported significantly lower levels of income, more receipt of public welfare, lower levels of employment, poorer mental and physical health, poorer relationship quality with current partner, and higher levels of smoking and criminality.